Take action! Give Girls in sex industry an opportunity for education!
“My name is Kat*. At 15, I sold my body to survive.”
Kat is just one of many young Hong Kong girls who due to life circumstances, entered prostitution as a means of survival.

It is 2017, Hong Kong becomes more affluent, these girls become more and more left behind. KEY for Girls campaign hopes to crowdfund raising funds for scholarships for as many as 20 local young girls like Kat.
*Fake name

Unlocking Doors of Opportunities
The Key for Girls campaign’s aim is to crowdfund Financial Assistance Scholarships for this group of 20 local girls who have left school and are currently working in the sex trade in Hong Kong.

Education has long been an important factor in unlocking doors of opportunities. The funds will be used to allow this group of 20 girls to attend vocational and night schooling in order to leave the trade. Around HK$8,000 is needed per girl in order to finance them to go back to school.

Teen’s Key – Young Women Development Network has already a few successful young girls who have gone through this program, and therefore, with your help, hope to put more through school.

What Your Funds Will Cover
* School admission fees, and
* Tutorial costs required to help these girls become accustomed to learning again and a school environmentTeen’s Key will help these girls apply for government subsidies to cover tuition costs.

The program will allow these girls to start school this September 2017.

With your help Teen’s Key can come together to support this group of girls and build a Hong Kong community which is willing to accept them back to society.

Teen’s Key appreciates and dearly thank you for your support and encouragement for the girls.

Funding Categories:$100 – you will receive a handmade leather bookmark$100 – you will receive a handmade dreamcatcher$175 – handmade leather bookmark + dreamcatcher set$500 – set of handmade leather bookmarks$8,000 – a personal guided tour with Executive Director, Bowie Lam, founder of Teen’s Key exploring the other side of Hong Kong where you will see some of the nightclubs where they do outreach, discover the history of the sex industry in Hong Kong.

Funding ends: 28 June 2017

For more information and to support this project, please follow this link to FringeBacker.

About Teen’s Key: Established in 2011 in Hong Kong, Teen’s Key looks to provide support for displaced, young teenaged girls vulnerable to entering prostitution. As little support is available for this formative age group of young girls, Teen’s Key is looking to fill the gap as they require more holistic care and careful counselling so they are can eventually attain a future away from prostitution.

Teen’s Key‘s Keys for Girls program aims, through education, to equip vulnerable young girls the life skills, knowledge and positive social network that will help them rebuild their own lives.

Teen’s Key is a three person strong team, who reached out to over 7,000 young girls working in the Hong Kong prostitution industry through our more than 900 outreach programs and over 1,000 counselling sessions. Additionally, they have conducted over 1,600 private HIV tests and joined the Hong Kong AIDS Commission in 2014.

In 2015, Teen’s Key received the “With and For Girls Award” global award, an award sponsored by many international organizations such as the Nike Foundation, The Malala Fund, Plan UK, Stars Foundation, The Global Fund for Children, Empower, Mama Cash and the Novo Foundation.

What is Sexual Violence?
Sexual violence is an act of violence, in which most of the victims are women. Any kind of intended or planned offence by a person in terms of act, language or attitude with a sexual implication to another person’s body to such an extent that, irrespective of relationship or place, it causes the latter to have a feeling of fear, being threatened or insulted, constitutes an act of sexual violence.

Sexual violence is not merely a kind of sexual behavior, but an act of violent attack by means of sex so as to dominate others. The term does not only limit to rape and indecent assault, but also embraces any kind of sexual abuse without body contact that can still cause the victims to feel fear, being insulted and harmed (including sexual harassment).

Established on 8 March, 1997, the Association Concerning Sexual Violence Against Women (“The Association”) is a non-government charitable organization founded by a group of people who are concerned about women’s rights and gender equity, in particular sexual violence against women.

The Association endeavors to bring issues of sexual violence against women to the attention of both the government and the community. The Association also appeals to the government and the community to offer victims support to pursue their legitimate interests and restore their life with confidence and dignity.

Belief:
● Everyone should enjoy basic human rights and dignity and be free from any form of infringement or discrimination.
● Every woman should enjoy freedom and liberty of life.
● Every woman should be able to protect herself from any sexual assault.
● The government should be responsible for building a social environment with
gender equality, respect and non-violence.
● The community should address issues concerning women being threatened
and harmed by sexual violence, encourage victimized women to be brave, and
support them to restore their dignity, as well as to combat the occurrence of
any crime of sexual violence.

Mission:
● To arouse the public concern about sexual violence;
● To advocate formulating a complete set of policies against sexual-violence; and
● To offer support services to women suffering from sexual violence and help them restore their dignity and
self-confidence.

The Association set-up hotline service in its inception, and started to provide counseling service for victims in October 1998. In April 2000, the Association issued its Anti Sexual Violence Action Plan (反性暴力行動綱領) which stipulated the Association’s recommendation and proposals. To promote community concern, the Association has also been running a series of educational campaigns, exhibitions, seminars and workshops in various communities such as primary and secondary school, social organizations and professional bodies, conducted numerous researches and publishes a Chinese newsletter “Combating Sexual Violence” (反擊).

With support from the Jockey Club Charitable Fund, in November 2000, the Association set up RainLily, Hong Kong’s first one-stop crisis center for female victims of sexual violence. Now supported by the Community Chest, RainLily continues to offer the victimized women a one-stop service around the clock, included pregnancy prevention, screening and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, forensic medical examination, psychological support and reporting to the police.

The Association, sponsored by the Community Chest, inaugurated the Anti 480 – Anti Sexual Violence Resource Centre on 22 July 2006. The Centre serves as a platform for the Association’s educational and advocacy efforts, and also provides resources for community education.

How you can helpVolunteers are an important cog in the wheel to support victims of sexual violence as well as to promote anti-sexual violence/gender equality education. At the same time, Volunteers are indispensable working partners of ACSVAW.

Through training courses and the experience of actual participation in the project, volunteers obtain a wealth of knowledge of sexual violence and gender equality. Volunteers make a determined effort to learn and apply the skills and knowledge acquired.

For more information about volunteer opportunities, please get in touch ACSVAW directly by visiting their website.

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